I recently designed a prototype for a citizen science contributor app. Specifically, the app helps hikers collect animal census data for scientists, by allowing hikers to take a photo of animals they see on the trail and then geotag these photos. The app then allows users to share with others their animal sightings as well as see what animals other people have seen on the trails nearby. The app also includes a rewards system to motivate users to document their sightings and provides users with fun facts about the animals they have sighted.

When designing my app, I ran into problems with making it easy and simple for users and not getting carried away with fancy features on the app that may not be too practical. In the future, I would spend more time focusing on the small details that can make a big difference, such as the placement of the buttons and making sure the functions of the app were clear and the layout of the app was organized and clear.

Despite some of these issues that I ran into, I really enjoyed the creativity that this project brought out of me and seeing my ideas come to life through Popapp. Specifically, when designing the app, the part I enjoyed the most was thinking about what features of the app the users would enjoy the most that would encourage them to continue using the app, such as a personal thank you incorporated into the app. I also really enjoyed watching my ideas evolve as I went through the editing process, running into issues and figuring out solutions.

This type of work is important because in today’s technology driven society, apps can make a big difference in someone’s life. Apps can be a source of enjoyment for users, as well as a source of information for users and by building prototypes we can make sure that apps are more efficient and easy for users to use which well help their quality of experience with the app and productivity. For example, apps such as car2go, Uber, and Onebusaway are very helpful for transportation and building prototypes and conducting user testing is what improves the quality of these apps.